Protector of a Lifetime
by Silverflare07
Summary: Diana didn't mind that she never had a UWatch. Martin minds very much when she gets one though... .one shot. .MartinDiana.


Here's my latest one shot. It's a response to the Martin/Diana community on LJ. The theme was technology and since the U-Watch is probably one of the most used pieces of technology on that show; I decided to write about that. I always loved how Diana didn't have her own U-Watch. It created ample opportunities for Martin to rush to her rescue:)

**Disclaimer:**If I had any say whatsoever in Martin Mystery, the US would have more than 2 seasons, and everyone would be forced to watch Eternal Christmas, repeatedly, until they admitted how amazing Martin and Diana really are together.

Plus there would be more awesome lines like, "Nobody shows their backside to my sister except me! _Nobody!_"

Oh...and sorry if there are any mistakes. I'm correcting this at _::glances at clock::_ 11:40 at night. I'm tired, but I wanted to get it up before I left for my dad's for the holidays.

oOoOo

A familiar beeping filled the air and Martin Mystery, senior at Torrington Academy, groaned. This wasn't happening! It was the day before Christmas break, the Center couldn't possibly have an assignment for them so close to the holidays. M.O.M. had promised them after the last two Christmas breaks went awry that they would definitely be getting this one off. So much for that apparently. He searched the hallway for sign of his stepsister, best friend, and partner, Diana. He saw lots of cute brunettes, but no sign of his spitfire stepsister. Sighing in annoyance, he headed off towards the library. Only Diana would be dumb enough to spend the last hour of school before a break in the library.

And there she was, snuggled into one of plush chairs, a book in her hands. Martin rolled his eyes, but couldn't help but smile at his best friend. She was so..._Diana_ that it made him grin.

"Come on D!" He grabbed the book from her grasp, always enjoying the opportunity to make her glare.

"Martin!" Diana reached for the book but he held it out of reach. He had always been a little bit taller than her, and his last growth spurt had added on another couple inches. She glared at him, hands on her hips. "What do you want?"

He held up his wrist, letting her get a good look at the blinking U-watch. She groaned. "Not now! M.O.M. promised us this Christmas off!"

"Yeah, she promised us the other two off too. Remember how those turned out?"

Groaning again, Diana placed the book back on the shelf while Marti scanned for the portal. "Come on," He told her once he had located it. "It's underneath the chair you were sitting on." He pushed it aside and they could see the Center looming below them. Martin jumped into the portal without a second glance. Diana sighed once more for good measure and then jumped in after him.

They landed rather ungracefully on the cold metal floor of the Center. After groaning and rubbing their abused body parts, they stood and made their way to the floating platform, allowing it to take them to M.O.M. The scanner came up and they each placed their hands down, letting it scan their prints.

_Martin Mystery, clear!_

_Diana Lombard, clear!_

They were greeted by Billy a few minutes later. "Hey guys!" He called, zooming towards them. "What's up?"

Martin shook his head. "No idea. But it had better be something important!"

"Yeah," Diana agreed. "This is supposed to be our vacation." She told him as they walked through the sliding doors that lead to M.O.M.'s office.

"Top agents such as yourselves hardly ever get vacations." M.O.M. told them, standing from behind her desk and walking over to the two teens. "But, fortunately for you, this is a call of pleasure, not business."

Martin's eyes immediately brightened. "Really?" He asked, reverting into the mind set of a child. "Is it more presents? Oh! Maybe it's a Christmas party! Or maybe she's going to announce that I'm the Center's number one agent!"

Diana sighed, shaking a head at her goofy stepbrother. "What's up, M.O.M.?"

"Actually," M.O.M. spoke, glancing towards the small tree in the corner of her office, "Martin was right. It's presents."

"Yahoo!" Martin jumped into the air, pumping his fist as he did so. "This is why I love Christmas!"

Diana rolled her eyes, but smiled none the less and accepted the small box M.O.M. handed to her. "Thanks M.O.M."

"Don't mention it Agent Lombard. I thought it was high time you received one of these anyways."

"Hm?" Diana cocked her head to the side quizzically but opened the box anyways. She gasped in shock and delight at the shiny new U-Watch that greeted her. "Oh, M.O.M.! This is amazing! Thank you!" She lifted the piece of technology out of the box, admiring it.

"Huh?" Martin looked up from his gift, a set of the Center's 10 Slimiest (and Non Harmful) Slimes. "Whoa!" He nearly dropped his present in shock.

M.O.M. nodded. "I thought it was high time Agent Lombard had her own U-Watch. We've been taking a good long look at the one you gave us after you temporarily switched teams. We've tried to incorporate some of that technology into this new U-Watch. I'm sure you'll use it wisely."

Diana squealed and snapped the U-Watch on her wrist. It was smaller and slicker than Martin', accommodating her smaller wrist. It was the same color scheme though; the size being one of the only things that gave away that it was any different than his. M.O.M. pressed a button her desk and a portal opened up behind them. "You guys can head on back. There shouldn't be a need for either of you until after the holidays. Remember though," She shot them both a serious look. "That's not a guarantee."

Diana nodded happily, still examining her present. "Sure thing, M.O.M."

Neither she nor M.O.M. noticed Martin's scowl.

oOo

"AH!" Diana looked at the slug creature that was flying towards her. She and Martin had been called in to do a basic spot and capture mission about an hour ago. Both had agreed, Diana because she'd wanted to try out her new U-Watch, and Martin because they still had a few days until Christmas.

"DIANA!" Martin jumped up, racing for his stepsister, already hitting the button for I-slicer on his U-Watch.

"Bungee cord activated." Another feminine voice broke through the slug creature's howls and the next thing Martin knew Diana was safely out of harm's way and grinning like a manic.

"That was so cool!" She cried. "Capture him in a net Martin so we can get back home!"

But Martin wasn't listening to her. He watched as she got the bungee cord to release its grip on the pipe it was holding onto and fell the few feet to the floor. Something inside of him snapped and he was suddenly furious. Furious for at the slug creature for existing in the first place, furious at Diana for always managing to get into harm's way, and furious at her new, stupid U-Watch for saving her.

That was supposed to be his job!

"Martin?" He turned to see that Diana had captured the slug creature in a net. "What's wrong? You just stood there."

"Well," Martin spit out, more bitterly than he'd intended to. "You don't really need me anymore do ya? Seein' as how you got your own U-Watch now and everything!"

Diana looked taken aback by his outburst. "What?"

He didn't answer her, only turned and stalked off in the other direction, visibly fuming for a reason Diana couldn't seem to figure out. She watched her brother's retreating figure and sighed, she would have to talk to him later. But for now, all she could do was wait for the helicopter from the Center that would come to take the slug creature away.

oOo

Martin scowled at his bedroom wall. It was Christmas Eve and he couldn't find in him to go down and celebrate with his family. He couldn't seem to rid himself of the overwhelming feeling that Diana didn't need him anymore. It didn't matter how stupid it seemed. Protecting Diana was supposed to have been his job! He couldn't think of a single mission where he hadn't needed to rescue her from something.

It had been nice, knowing that she counted on him to keep her safe. That she trusted him to protect her from all the evil, smelly, and slimy things that they encountered on their missions. It had been comforting to be able to think that he had been more to her than just her stepbrother. He had been her partner and her protector. Now, he wasn't sure how much longer he would be either.

He was brought out of his musings by a knock on his door. He didn't bother to answer, whoever was there could wait until he felt like coming out.

There were a few moments of silence before his door creaked open. "Martin?" Diana's voice called out from the hallway. "Martin?" She said his name again as she stepped into his room. She sighed when she saw him with his back turned stubbornly to her. "Come on, Martin, look at me."

Martin crossed his arms over his chest and let out a stubborn 'hmph', turning his head to the side.

"Don't you at least want your Christmas present?"

Martin cracked open one eye to see his stepsister standing before him, holding a brightly wrapped gift in her hands. It was the present, and only the present (or so he told himself), that made him finally turn around and extend his hands for his gift. She handed it to him and he tore of the wrapping paper, not even stopping to admire how perfectly she'd managed to wrap it. He lifted the lid of the small white box and gasped in surprise. Diana's U-Watch was staring back up at him.

"Di..." He finally looked up at his stepsister. "This is yours."

Diana shook her head. "I don't want it." He gave her a disbelieving look. "Okay, so I really want it. But not if it's going to cause this..._thing_ between us. Everything was going fine until I used that U-Watch on our last mission. You got so angry at me and I thought about what you said and the only thing I could find that was any different on that mission was that I had my own U-Watch. So here, it's yours. Now will you please stop being mad at me?"

Martin's eyes visibly softened as he watched her shuffle her feet. "I'm sorry Di. I'm not even mad that you've got a nicer U-Watch then I do."

Diana looked up, confused by that statement. "Then what's the problem? I don't understand."

Martin sighed and looked down at the watch sitting innocently in the box. "It's just...what it represents, ya know?"

Diana shook her head. "What?"

"It means that you don't need me anymore." Diana opened her mouth to argue but Martin beat her to it. "I've seen you do missions on your own before Di, you're a little over cautious sometimes, but you're just as good as me. And now you don't even need me to protect you anymore."

He looked so miserable and dejected, and Diana's heart went out to him. "That's ridiculous Martin." She put a comforting hand on his shoulder. "You think that just because I can save myself now I'm not going to want to be your partner?"

Martin shook his head. "It's just... you always needed me to keep you safe, ya know? From all the aliens and ghosts and other creepy stuff. You're the only girl who's ever needed me like that before and I...I just didn't want you to _not_ need me anymore."

Diana's voice was barely above a whisper. "I thought you would be glad I got my own U-Watch." She lowered her gaze to his carpet. "I thought it would be a relief for you, not having to always watch my back all the time. I figured you would be glad that you could finally throw yourself into a case completely."

Martin shook his head, catching her gaze. "I loved being able to protect you Di. It made me feel important...like I was more than just your stepbrother." Diana gasped but he continued on. "It was something I had over everyone else, even Marvin. You never once called for him when you got scared."

Diana placed a hand on Martin's cheek, smiling lightly. "You will always be my protector Martin. And you're so much more than just my stepbrother." She leaned in then, placing a gentle kiss to his lips.

His eyes were opened wide, his mouth hanging limp in shock before a slow smile stretched its way across his face. "Thanks D, for your gift."_And everything that came with it_, he added silently.

She smiled. "Your welcome." She stood up. "Now get some sleep. You know how your Dad loves his annual snowball fights, and I'm going to need someone to protect me."

He watched her walk to the door. "Good night D." He hesitated a moment before; "I love you."

He didn't miss the smile that blossomed on Diana's face as she turned around in his doorway.

"I know," She whispered. "I love you too." Then she shut the door and was gone.

Martin flopped down onto his bed, grinning like an idiot and feeling more relaxed then he had in a long time. It was nice to know that he was still the only one Diana trusted with her life, but it was even greater to know that he was the only one she trusted with her heart.

oOoOo

Woohoo! 2,136 words later, and my little Christmas/technology challenge is complete! I feel so accomplished.

Also, I'm sorry if Martin and Diana are horribly OoC, it's been so long since I've written for them. I've been watching the show pretty much continuously these past couple days though so, hopefully, it all fit together.

R&R!


End file.
